As the game entered the fourth quarter, not only did the atmosphere suddenly become anxious, but the players' breathing became more and more intense.

The Lakers' first attacker attracted defense with the help of OK combination and passed the ball to Robert Horry, who was in a hot third quarter.

However, the Bucks did not do anything to rest between the third and fourth quarters.

George Carl had already made targeted arrangements and sent Tim Thomas to defend Horry at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

If O'Neal plays under the basket with the ball, Tim Thomas will assist in defending O'Neal. If the ball is in Horry's hands, Tim Thomas will use his physical fitness to interfere with it.

Horry is a big heart player. The ball is in his hands. Even when facing interference from defensive players, Horry will take action without hesitation.

However, Horry's three-point shooting percentage is actually about 43%. Although it is already very good in this era, the shooting percentage is here.

Today's hit rate has exceeded 70%, which is obviously abnormal.

So, this ball was hit by Tim Thomas without any surprise.

Originally, the Lakers were in charge of O'Neal at the basket. The Lakers had a world-famous Los Angeles blacksmith like Kobe, and they were not afraid of playing too hard. After all, O'Neal had a good way to grab offensive rebounds.

But this ball was a three-pointer, and the rebound was not within O'Neal's control.

He said this quickly, and He Li used Joel to block O'Neal's position and ran to the rebounding site first.

After all, the two players on the Lakers' weak side are still behind He Li. O'Neal and Kobe were stopped by the Bucks defensive players respectively. It was no surprise that He Li grabbed this ball.

After the ball rights were converted, Kobe reacted quickly and returned to defense immediately.

But Kassel and Ray Allen immediately turned around and took a fast attack.

Kobe thought that He Li would pass the ball long and hand it over to Cassel, so he landed early and blocked it on the side of Cassel.

But he didn't expect that He Li was brave enough. He hit Horry and had already returned to defense and was about to catch up with Ray Allen. He Li still passed the ball over the heads and led Ray Allen to jump and catch the ball.

Since Ray Allen was three steps away from the basket, he couldn't take the dunk at an aerial pace.

Fortunately, Kobe was taken away by Cassel. After Ray Allen landed, he took a big step forward and took the ball into the basket with his fingertips.

89 to 85, the Bucks once again opened the score in the round when the Lakers tied the score and even overtook it.

However, it is inevitable that the shot is not scored.

At this point in the game, Kobe didn't trust other players, and most of the people on the court thought Horry could still make a shot.

So, the Lakers passed the ball in the next attack and handed it over to Horry to singles for Tim Thomas.

The Bucks naturally attach great importance to Horry.

Tim Thomas played less than 20 minutes today. He was physically strong in defense, and was very patient in defense. He gave enough physical confrontation. Anyway, the referee did not blow the whistle easily today.

Horry wanted to shake his shoulders and shake Tim Thomas away with fake moves. Tim Thomas also adjusted in time with small steps and refused to jump easily.

Tim Thomas' physical condition and static talent are really exaggerated.

Just simply standing on the ground without having to jump. Just stretch out a hand and blocking Huo in front of Huo, the difficulty of Huo's shooting increased greatly.

“Duang!”

Horry scored a three-pointer again, but fortunately, Horry's move seemed to be a little lighter. The ball bounced down from the basket and fell not far away. The offensive rebound was grabbed by O'Neal again.

After O'Neal grabbed the rebound, he stood up and dunked impatiently.

Joel beside O'Neal was also very anxious when he saw it, and hugged O'Neal with his left hand without saying a word.

This is not the first time Joel has performed a shark-cutting tactic and knows the horrors of O'Neal in recent years.

Joel couldn't stop O'Neal with his hands alone, let alone with one hand now.

In order to avoid two plus one, Joel had to make a bad move. When his left hand had already taken action, he immediately used his right hand to attack O'Neal from a secret corner, punched O'Neal's waist, and then spread his palms, pretending to hold O'Neal.

O'Neal was attacked and obviously stuck in the air. Because the dunking movement became a little incoherent, he had lost a little bit of strength. In the end, the dunk turned into a layup with both hands.

As a result, the basketball naturally failed to get what it wanted and fell into the basket.

Of course, the referee still called Joel a defensive foul.

However, O'Neal was still very angry. After landing, he wanted to argue with Joel.

When He Li met this situation, he even wanted to laugh when he saw it, and even wanted to be unrelated to his own affairs. He hoped that O'Neal would take the initiative to fight Joel.

If the starting centers of the two teams are expelled from the field together, it must be that the Bucks will make a lot of money.

If O'Neal was not present, He Li would not have to defend one on the weak side.

However, O'Neal was still rational, or timid.

The Bucks had a double-team attitude towards O'Neal. When O'Neal confronted Joel, Tim Thomas and He Li were on the side.

After playing for a season, even He Li, who is self-disciplined, must rush up to protect his teammates and support Joel at this time.

The same goes for Tim Thomas, who surrounded O'Neal from the other side.

At this time, Kobe also rushed towards O'Neal, wanting to protect O'Neal, the boss who could not convince him.

However, Kobe will not let go of any teammate easily, even if he is not happy with his teammates.

However, before Kobe arrived, O'Neal voluntarily withdrew from the bottom line and approached the referee on the side.

Garnett, who was thousands of miles away, saw this scene through the TV and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity...

With O'Neal's retreat, there was no further conflict in the game.

Many fans still feel very sorry about this.

Even because O'Neal had to execute a free throw next, many viewers in front of the TV chose to go to the bathroom.

However, the live commentator took advantage of this time to explain passionately: "The Lakers need other players to stand up and help the OK group share some offensive pressure.

Robert Horry has done well enough in the third quarter, but the Bucks have excellent physical talent Tim Thomas!

Tim Thomas completely locked Robert Horie's three-pointer! And also defended Robert Horie's breakthrough route."

"Yes, now, the Lakers only have three ways to go!

Or use the OK combination's physical strength too early.

But this will lead to the hidden danger of insufficient physical strength at the critical moment in the last few minutes and unable to play the key ball.

Or there are more role players who can stand up and unexpectedly help the team chase points.

But other Lakers players are not like Robert Horry, who can take action by catching the ball. Most players need to hold the ball to master the feel.

In the end, we can only win with defense and will never give the Bucks a chance to play easy       ball.

The Bucks are a team that is extremely good at playing fast breaks!

The Lakers have to defend the Bucks from the fast break so that they can be sure not to lose a large number of points in a short period of time, resulting in regrets before the end of the game."

"It is worth mentioning that the Bucks have taken the lead in improving their defensive strength."

"Yes. Both teams are in good offensive form today. When each other uses offense to decide the outcome, the defensive end will inevitably be relaxed.

It has to be said that the Bucks were the first to realize this than the Lakers.

By comparison, it is easy to mistakenly think that the Bucks are the team that has won two consecutive championships and has rich experience in the finals.”

Winning the game requires scoring, but winning the championship with defense is not a short vernacular.

In this game, He Li focused his work on the defensive end, which is enough to prove the Bucks' attitude and determination to win this game.

In comparison, the Lakers are indeed a little looser.

Having said that, O'Neal was fouled by Joel, and he was fighting and retreating, and he lost his courage. The first ball was directly free throw, which made O'Neal stunned for a moment.

Fortunately, this is the first ball, and it is not considered an violation, so you can continue to shoot the second free throw.

However, O'Neal is obviously not very good in this state. The previous record of "Three Untouch" also made O'Neal speechless. In order to avoid making a fool of himself again, O'Neal had to work harder, and this time he finally made a fuss.

Because O'Neal was too concerned about not shooting three times, he did not rush forward to grab the rebound.

There are more people grabbing rebounds at the Bucks, and Tim Thomas got the defensive rebound.

Only then did O'Neal come to his senses, but the Bucks had already started a fast attack.

Basically, it's four-for-five, and the Bucks are not frivolous in the fast break, after all, they are leading the score!

Cassel would come. Knowing that Joel had been defending, he took advantage of O'Neal's failure to defend and rewarded Joel with a pie.

So, the Bucks expanded their scoring lead to 6 points with the help of this all-in contact.

The Bucks scored 4 points in a row, and the Lakers made frequent irons. The Zen master finally couldn't sit still. After playing in the fourth quarter for only a minute, he immediately called for a timeout.

After returning from the timeout, the Lakers wanted to use Kobe's breakthrough pass to create more open shots for Horry and others.

At the beginning, the Bucks were worried that Kobe would break through and pass the ball to O'Neal at the basket, and were worried that the number of fouls was not enough, so they tried to avoid O'Neal from receiving the ball.

This made the Lakers shoot two more three-pointers.

But soon, the Bucks players vaguely realized that they didn't seem to care about this.

So, in addition to the OK combination, other players of the Lakers were also blocked by the Bucks.

At most, He Li will be missing someone on the side of the first defense.

However, although Kobe has passed the ball, he is not a magician after all. In addition, he has not practiced passing balls for many years and is unfamiliar with his skills, so he cannot pass the ball to the right person as soon as possible.
To be continued...